Primary malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in an incarcerated groin hernia: report of a case

Surgery Today. May 2005;35(5):421-4. [Link]

Mario Testini¹ , Anna Scattone², Beatrice Di Venere¹, Germana Lissidini¹, Giuseppe Piccinni¹, Silvia Palmisano¹ and abriella Serio²

(1) Department of Applications in Surgery of Innovative Technologies, Section of General Surgery and Vascular Surgery and Clinical Oncology, University of Bari, Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy

(2) Department of Pathology and Genetics, Section of Pathology, University of Bari, Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy

Abstract

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma arising from the inguinal hernia sac is rare. We report the case of a 71-year-old man examined in our emergency department for a bilateral inguinoscrotal hernia, which was recurrent in the right groin, and primary and incarcerated in the left groin. An emergency exploratory operation revealed a firm mass, 10thinspcm in diameter, in the left inguinal hernia sac. The remaining peritoneal surface appeared macroscopically normal. Therefore, we resected the mass and performed a Rutkow hernioplasty. The patient was discharged after a short, uneventful recovery, and was referred to the oncology department for adjuvant therapy. He is now well and asymptomatic with no evidence of ascites, 26 months after his operation. A mesothelioma of the hernial sac peritoneum was the final histological diagnosis.